It's a Love Story
by more-like-reyna
Summary: Jason, Piper, Leo, Percy and Annabeth visit New Rome and Reyna feels dreadful when she sees Jason and Piper together. Leo, fresh from a break up-still wallowing in pain is determined that Reyna doesn't feel the same. A bit of Taylor Swift thrown in.


BTW everything belongs to Rick Riordan. If it belonged to me-Reyna would have ended up with Leo. And 90% of what I do is One-shots. Even long one shot. But I hate loooong chapter fanfics which exceed 4 chapters.

AU: After the Giant War. Calypso and Leo broke up. Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth and Leo are visiting New Rome. Reyna is upset because of Jason and Piper. Leo decides to help her, but doesn't know his own feeling yet. And Jason doesn't DIE! NUH-UH! And TOA doesn't happen. Anyways:

REYNA'S POV:

I was sitting in my praetor's room, waiting for the demigods from Camp-Half Blood. I was impatient already. To kill time, I picked up a book-Eleanor and Park. I sat down on a chair and propped my legs on the desk. After a few chapters, I heard someone calling my name. I turned to see a messenger. He gasped for breath and panted, 'They're here, the Greeks.' Greeks. It was an improvement to Graecus scum, but it was hard convincing everyone that the Greeks were friendly and our allies. Some of the things the older veterans had said-I shuddered and returned to reality. But that voice was familiar. I couldn't place it until the guy stopped gasping and looked at me, a cold sneer on his face-Trey Garibaldi, legacy of Janus. He was one of Octavian's loyal supporters and he still hated the Greeks. I rolled my eyes and started donning my armor. Trey looked at me with a cruel glint in his eyes and asked, 'Armor, Praetor? Sure the Greeks are our friends?'

I fixed him a cold stare and said, 'The armor is to protect my friends, our allies against so called "True Romans" who're nothing more than backstabbing low-lives, Messenger.' I spat the words out with as much contempt as manageable. He lowered his eyes as I walked out.

I soon reached the main forum, where the demigods, my friends were standing. I had to contain myself as I saw them so as to not go hug them immediately. Frank and Hazel were gone on a quest so Dakota filled in, giving his speech. There was Percy, his eyes glinting with amusement; Annabeth who was studying the legion's stances and their weapons but her eyes sparkled when they saw me. She rushed forward and we hugged despite the many raised eyebrows some of the legion gave us. Annabeth was my best friend and I didn't care about what others thought. Then there was Leo, looking nervous (he _had_ blown up New Rome) but his eyes were puffy and his hands were still. Leo's hands were never still! Then there was Piper, as beautiful as ever and holding hands with him-Jason. When I saw him I almost started sobbing. The scar above his lip and that messy lock of hair and that carefree smile and his amazing eyes that made me want to stare into them for eternity. Gods of Olympus, I needed help! But now he seemed more comfortable, more lax, and more Greek. I chided myself, 'Shut up, Reyna! He's not yours! He's a Greek now, not a Roman.' But one thought struck me odd. 'Where's Calypso,' I ventured, not caring about the way Dakota was glaring at me.

Leo started, 'Calypso? Cal… she… she…' and choked up. Piper placed a hand on his shoulder and said bitterly, 'Calypso couldn't be here due to certain reasons.' Oh shit, Leo and Calypso had broken up. After the speech, I linked my arm in Annabeth's and said, 'Come on! I'll show you around New Rome.'

As we walked, I showed my best friends my home-the Via Principia, the baths, the temples and the Gardens. At some point of time I turned back to ask Jason something, but I noticed he was gone. And so was Piper. I looked at Percy and Annabeth-who were quite oblivious but Leo winced when he saw who I was looking for. I bit back a curse. Almighty Bellona, I hated me. But I hated them more. I continued with the tour and tried to stop the overwhelming emotions in me. I always could manage my feelings and keep a poker face by imagining the emotions were a river of water and I had built an invulnerable dam around it. Usually it helped, but today… I stopped the tour near an outdoor café run by a veteran's family. Percy and Annabeth wandered off while Leo sat on one of the chairs. I followed his suit, hoping for someone to talk to me. But after three minutes of silence, I couldn't bear it anymore. I said, abruptly, 'Valdez, if you don't tell me what's up with you, I will punch your face. What's up with you and Calypso? '

Leo sighed and said, 'It's pretty obvious, isn't it? But you will punch me, anyways.' I sat down more comfortably, waiting for him to start.

Leo said, 'Well, I rescued Calypso.' I nodded. Everyone knew how Leo had died, come back and rescued Calypso. He continued, 'Well, me, Cal, Jason and Piper decided to go to school together and of course, you know, there are hotter guys there. And Calypso realized that there are better guys in this world. She had only seen the men in her island anyways. And then, she decided that the curse was clouding her judgement. And she liked this other guy-some mortal!' He said the last words with so much pain that it hurt me just to hear it. He went on, 'and she said that we never had a chance, it was just the curse always came true, so that's why she fell for me. Doesn't really like me and stuff. And then she dumped me, moved out of Camp and got a flat with her new boyfriend.' His anguish was so much like my mind voice that I wondered if they were related. Leo was so broken from the inside but he always appeared to be funny and you could count on him to lighten up everyone's mood. He said, attempting a grin, but failing epically (it looked more like a grimace), 'But I'm the Super-Sized McShizzle and everybody lo-ve-s Leo! So doesn't matter!' He looked at me, hoping I bought the whole façade.

I smiled and said, 'OK, Mr. McShizzle, I'm going to the Gardens of Bacchus. If you want me I'll be there.' I got up and walked, deep in thought. Leo was so much like me, the resemblance disturbed me. I wondered if I would look like that without my poker face. But I know that my mental shields are strong. But still, Leo's hurt face haunted me and I needed to calm my nerves and my mind and only one place to do so. My favorite place on earth.

LEO'S POV:

So Calypso had broken up with me. Left me. Dumped actually. And it hurt so much. And I didn't even want to come to New Rome. The Romans looked like they wanted to kill. I _had_ blown up their city, but in my defense, creepy ghosts had possessed me. But back to Cal. And the thing was I didn't want to tell anyone about the break up. Not even Jason and Piper. They would get angry, bitter or would pity me. I didn't need that. I wanted someone to understand. And I don't think my friends would understand. So I had told Jason and Piper the barebones facts but nothing more. But Reyna… Dang, that girl was scary! And persuasive. Which was scarier. But somehow I felt like I could talk to her and she would understand, not pity me or bitch about Calypso. Just listen. And she did. But some random thought was hanging in my head. It took me sometimes to place it-oh crap! Jason and Piper were in the Gardens of Bacchus. I had heard Jason whispering to Piper to go there. And damn! If Reyna saw them there, she would get her heart broken. More than it was now. I had seen her when she found out that Jason and Piper had left during the tour. And somehow, I felt responsible for her feelings. And I got up and ran towards the garden. Reyna had already pointed it out during the tour. And it was beautiful. As I got in, I searched for Reyna amidst its vast expanse.

I finally found her, standing, almost hidden, behind a laurel tree. She was staring broken heartedly at the statue of Bacchus. I was confused. Reyna got rejected by the wine dude? Then it struck me. Stupid Leo! I got on tiptoes and saw Jason and Piper, intertwined, arms around each other and kissing passionately. I looked back at Reyna, and as I did, a single tear rolled down her cheek. And she turned slowly and her expression hit me like bullets of broken glass. It was so heartbroken, so filled with hurt, pain, angst and sorrow. It was a face without hope. The usual fire in her eyes was gone. Now they were empty. Hollow. As she started walking towards the gates, I moved away and hid behind a faun statue. She walked past me, head upturned, blinking furiously. She stopped near the gate and wiped the tear off. She turned to see Jason one last time, and her face.

Her face reminded me of mine before I grinned and joked. But her stately poker face returned, though there was no more hope in her eyes. No more fire. She quietly walked away and I came from behind the statue and looked at Jason and Piper. They had stopped kissing and were now smiling at each other. I exclaimed, annoyed, 'Jason?! WTF!' They looked at me, surprised. But I shot them a look and stalked off to find the Praetor's quarters. It was pretty easy. I had already known where it was and went to Reyna's. I found the door ajar and I opened it and walked in. I saw Reyna struggling with an old fashioned tape recorder. She was muttering, 'Stupid thing… Doesn't work… Just like the rest of my life…' I forced a smile and sat down on one of her chairs and said, 'Sup, Praetor!' She looked up, obviously annoyed, 'what do you want, Leo?'

I replied, 'You asked me come to you if I wanted something. I want company.' I shrugged.

Reyna rolled her eyes and sighed. She returned to the tape recorder. But after two minutes, I couldn't bear it anymore. I shook her shoulder. She looked up, her expression like she was trying not to kill me, 'what do you want Leo?'

I replied, 'Um, don't kill the poor machine. You know it ought to be in a museum?' She smiled faintly with an amused expression. The thought that I made her smile warmed my heart and I grinned like an idiot and said, 'Let Uncle Leo do the machine work. Step aside, amateurs.' She laughed and vacated her seat. She gestured me to sit in a mocking way-but somehow that didn't make me feel bad. I sat down and summoned a screwdriver and some rags from my tool belt. After two minutes, it was as good as new. I got up and bowed to Reyna and jibed, 'And that's how the pros do it!'

She laughed and picked up a tape from the desk and threw it at me. I easily caught it and looked at the name- "Taylor Swift Mega Mix". The corners of my mouth twitched. Reyna regarded me with a glare like "Any Problem, Idiot?" But then I couldn't hold it any longer. I tried to. Honestly, I did. But I started laughing. In between laughs, I said, 'You… Taylor Swift… mega mix!' Then I continued laughing until my stomach hurt and I was doubled over. I got up and wiped the tears off my eyes. Reyna was looking at me with a frown. She murmured, 'Taylor is amazing!' and she put the tape in. The song started playing and immediately Reyna collapsed on the chair like she'd been shot. I didn't recognize the song (Hey, I wasn't into Taylor!) but Reyna's eyes brimmed with tears.

As the chorus started, I realized that it was 'Teardrops on my Guitar'. Calypso loved that song. But for once, the thought of it didn't make me sad. My thoughts were on the heart-broken girl in front of me. I stood still for two seconds. Only two seconds. And that's all it took for her to lose all her mental shields, her protective walls-everything. The strongest girl I knew was sobbing so brokenheartedly that it killed me.

I walked to her and held her shoulders. She immediately wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into my shirt as Taylor Swift provided her unspoken words. I was unsure what to do, so I gingerly put my hands around her neck and patted her back. As the song reached the last line, 'I fake a smile so he won't see', she heaved a huge sob and then stopped crying. We stayed like that for some time until she looked up.

Her eyes were so red rimmed that I wanted to find Jason and whack his head. I had an insane urge to stroke her hair. As she got up, she smelled like jasmine. She had a tiny smile as she looked at me and next thing I know-we were kissing.

Kissing like I had never known. It wasn't like any other kiss, it just felt right. As we pulled apart, she smiled at me and it melted my insides. She laid her head on my shoulder and kissed it. She whispered, 'Thanks, Leo.' I realized the songs were still playing. Now it was playing 'Love Story' and as Taylor Swift sang, ' _It's a love story, Baby just say yes!_ ' my last thought, 'How apt.'


End file.
